Divine love is rendered conspicuous
when it I shines in the midst of judgments.
Fair is that lone star which smiles through the rifts of the
thunder clouds; bright is the
oasis which blooms in the wilderness of sand; so fair and so
bright is love in the midst
of wrath.

When the Israelites provoked the Most
High by their continued idolatry, He punished
them by withholding both dew and rain, so that their land was
visited by a sore famine;
but while He did this, He took care that His own chosen ones
should be secure. If all
other brooks are dry, yet shall there be one reserved for
Elijah; and when that fails, God
shall still preserve for him a place of sustenance; nay, not
only so, the Lord had not
simply one 'Elijah,' but He had a remnant according to the
election of grace, who were
hidden by fifties in a cave, and though the whole land was
subject to famine, yet these
fifties in the cave were fed, and fed from Ahab's table too by
His faithful, God-fearing
steward, Obadiah.

Let us from this draw the
inference, that come what may, God's people are safe. Let
convulsions shake the solid earth, let the skies themselves
be rent in twain, yet amid the
wreck of worlds the believer shall be as secure as in the
calmest hour of rest. If God
cannot save His people under heaven, He will save them in
heaven. If the world
becomes too hot to hold them, then heaven shall be the place
of their reception and
their safety.

Be ye then confident, when ye
hear of wars, and rumours of wars. Let no agitation
distress you, but be quiet from fear of evil. Whatsoever
cometh upon the earth, you,
beneath the broad wings of Jehovah, shall be secure.
Stay yourself upon His promise;
rest in His faithfulness, and bid defiance to the blackest
future, for there is nothing in it
direful for you. Your sole concern should be to show forth to
the world the blessedness
of hearkening to the voice of wisdom.
Yours in Christ,
Paul N. F.